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Thomas Trelawney
Thomas A. Trelawney (b. October 26, 3463-January 8, 3535) was a Dranish politician of the right-wing Rally for the Republic who formerly served as his party's Secretary-General and in several cabinet positions. He was renowned for his skills in managing campaigns and has led his party into parliamentary elections multiple times. Life and Career Thomas Trelawney's parents were large-scale farmers and had acquired an impressive fortune with their agribusiness, enabling their son to study at the Llwybr Hawl Agricultural Academy. Although he was originally supposed to inherit his parents' farming occupation, he let the farm run by a tenant later and instead became a banker, earning considerable wealth as a speculator dealing primarily with wheat and other agricultural products. In September 3484, he ran for Parliament as a member of the right-libertarian RFR, positioning himself as a radical minarchist in favor of abolishing the income tax. Despite the RFR's weakness in Loren, he won the seat with 55% of the vote and would defend it numerous times later on. After some years as economic spokesman, he got to chair the RFR parliamentary faction and in that position was known as a man with an acid tongue who enthusiastically indulged in verbal battles with the parliamentary left. In 3506, upon the resignation of Constance Woodhall, RFR leadership elections were held, and Trelawney, posing as ardent anti-communist and radical rightist, was determined to become the new leader. His main rival was establishment candidate Masuhiro Ozawa, the Minister of Internal Affairs. During the campaign, he attacked the leftist parties rather than his inner-party rivals, a strategy that paid off in avowedly anti-communist Provinces such as Loren and Magadonia, where the party members voted for him by overwhelming margins. In the end, he won the first round of the leadership elections with around 39%, leading Ozawa by two percentage points. Despite having been ahead in all polls taken before the runoff, he was defeated in the second round, albeit by an extremely slim margin. The endorsement of popular President Earl Branstead-Smith for his opponent was considered the main factor for Ozawa's narrow success. After the race, Trelawney resigned as chairperson over disagreements with Ozawa's agenda. During the years until the next leadership election, he regularly criticized the establishment faction of his party and questioned the RFR's alliance with the KDF, who he deemed to leftist. In 3512, he ran for Chairman again when Masuhiro Ozawa stood down, and made it to the runoff again. However, this time he did not come nearly as close to victory, losing to Gwendolyn Hayforth-Breckinridge, another anti-alliance candidate 47-53%. Ahead of the 3414 election, he was appointed Secretary-General and chief campaign officer by Hayforth-Breckinrigde, who would later be chosen as presidential nominee. Trelawney ran a very aggressive campaign, and launched attacks against rival parties early in the race. Of the newly-formed Democratic Progressive Party, he said: "(...) when they talk about helping hands and fair shots, we can already stop listening, because we all know what it means: higher taxes, more government and more bureaucracy. It's the same old apologetics for leftist doctrine. Redistribution is 'fairness', collectivism is 'solidarity' and so on. It's all warmed up leftist stuff." He was criticized by DPP Chairman Fukuda as "extreme" in his rhetoric, but continued his verbal rampage throughout the campaign, calling the Dranish Agrarian League "enemies of progress" and slamming the DPP's claim that "government is not evil" by replying that "government is indeed evil, because it is based on coercion. Now, everyone of us knows the term 'necessary evil', and that's how government should be seen. To an extent, it is necessary, but it shouldn't be glorified as a vehicle of improving the lives of the masses. That's what should be done via free enterprise, growth and production." Trelawney continued his aggressive campaign, and the elections were successful, as Hayforth-Breckinridge was elected President and the RFR went out of the election largely unscathed, contrary to the other two coalition parties, which both lost over 20% and were thrashed by the electorate. He then became chief cabinet secretary in the new administration, while also serving as the President's official spokesperson. In that position, he aggressively criticized the opposition's behavior during Hayforth-Breckinridge's term, saying that "from the beginning there was an appalling lack of respect for the authority of Madam President, with the KDF even denying the legitimacy of the government and its High Councillor illegally refusing to step down even if his remaining in his position is entirely at the discretion of the President." In the 3517 snap polls, after the collapse of the RFR's coalition partners, he again ran the RFR's campaign, and managed to lead it to a victory in the parliamentary election, emerging as largest party. However, the presidency was lost to leftist Sarah Goodwin. Trelawney successfully lead the RFR to victory in the 3521 snap polls, in which John Holbrooke defeated Goodwin. Two years later, again with Trelawney as campaign manager, he won a triumphant re-election. Trelawney became Chief Cabinet Secretary and Minister of Food and Agriculture in Holbrooke's RFR-KDF-PP-coalition government, and managed to repeal the ban on GM foods implemented under Alliance rule. In the 3527 elections, his campaign skills could not prevent an RFR wipeout and a left-wing landslide victory under Sean Yates, which Trelawney bitterly commented by saying to a reporter "you can give that bastard my regards for screwing the country in advance." Alongside him, the 'Old Guard' retired from the RFR leadership and paved way for the next generation. Trelawney also lost his constituency and declined to accept a seat from the party list, retiring from politics altogether. Post-Politics In the following years, he kept away from the public eye and, apart from sporadic commentary on several TV channels regarding issues related to his party and right-wing thought in general, did not comment on any political matters whatsoever. He died in early 3435 at his estate in the countryside of Loren. Category:Dranian people Category:RFR politicians